Remote Generation of Magnon Schrödinger Cat State via Magnon-Photon Entanglement

Single-shot magnon interference in a magnon-superconducting-resonator hybrid circuit

Magnon interference is a hallmark of coherent magnon interactions. In this work, we demonstrate single-shot magnon interference using up to four magnon pulses in two remotely coupled yttrium iron garnet spheres mediated by a coplanar superconducting resonator. By exciting one YIG sphere with injected microwave pulses, we achieve coherent energy exchange between the two spheres, facilitating their interference processes, including Rabi-like oscillation with a single pulse, constructive and destructive interference with two pulses, and interference peak sharpening with up to four pulses-analogous to diffraction grating in optical interference. The resulting interference patterns can be precisely controlled by changing the frequency detuning and time delay of the magnon pulses. The demonstration of time-domain coherent control of remote magnon interference opens new pathways for advancing coherent information processing through multi-operation, circuit-integrated hybrid magnonic networks.

Adapting coherent-state superpositions in noisy channels

Quantum non-Gaussian states are crucial for the fundamental understanding of non-linear bosonic systems and simultaneously advanced applications in quantum technologies. In many bosonic experiments, the important non-Gaussian quantum feature is the negativity of the Wigner function, a cornerstone for quantum computation with bosons. Unfortunately, the negativities present in complex quantum states are extremely vulnerable to the effects of decoherence, such as energy loss, noise, and dephasing, caused by the coupling to the environment, which is an unavoidable part of any experimental implementation. An efficient way to mitigate its effects is by adapting quantum states into more resilient forms. We propose optimal protection of superpositions of coherent states against a sequence of asymmetric thermal lossy channels by suitable squeezing operations.

Non-Markovian environment induced Schrödinger cat state transfer in an optical Newton's cradle

In this paper, we study the Schrödinger cat state transfer in a quantum optical version of Newton's cradle in a non-Markovian environment. Based on a non-Markovian master equation, we show that the cat state can be transferred purely through the memory effect of the non-Markovian common environment, even without any direct couplings between neighbor cavities. The mechanism of the environment-induced cat state transfer is analyzed both analytically and numerically to demonstrate that the transfer is a unique phenomenon in a non-Markovian regime. From this example, the non-Markovian environment is shown to be qualitatively different from the Markovian environment, reflected by the finite versus zero residue coherence. Besides, we also show the influence of environmental parameters is crucial for the transfer. We hope the cat state transfer studied in this work may shed more light on the fundamental difference between non-Markovian and Markovian environments.

Controlling magnon-magnon entanglement and steering by atomic coherence

Here we show that it is possible to control magnon-magnon entanglement in a hybrid magnon-atom-cavity system based on atomic coherence. In a four-level V-type atomic system, two strong fields are applied to drive two dipole-allowed transitions and two microwave cavity modes are coupled with two dipole forbidden transitions as well as two magnon modes simultaneously. It is found that the stable magnon-magnon entanglement, one-way steering and two-way EPR steering can be generated and controlled by atomic coherence according to the following two points: (i) the coherent coupling between magnon and atoms is established via exchange of virtual photons; (ii) the dissipation of magnon mode is dominant over amplification since one of the atomic states mediated one-channel interaction always keeps empty. The coherent control of magnon-magnon correlations provides an effective approach to modify macroscopic quantum effects using the laser-driven atomic systems.

Quantum illumination based on cavity-optomagnonics system with Kerr nonlinearity

Quantum illumination is a quantum optical sensing technique, which employs an entangled source to detect low-reflectivity object immersed in a bright thermal background. Hybrid cavity-optomagnonics system promises to work as quantum illumination because a yttrium iron garnet (YIG) sphere can couple to microwave field and optical field. In this paper, we propose a scheme to enhance the entanglement between the output fields of the microwave and optical cavities by considering the intrinsic Kerr nonlinearity of the YIG. We investigate the difference between intrinsic Kerr nonlinearity and optomagnonical parametric-type coupling on improving entanglement. Our result show that the large value optomagnonical parametric-type coupling does not mean the large entanglement, nevertheless, the large value of Kerr nonlinearity does monotonously improve the entanglement for our group of parameters. Consequently, under feasible parameters of current experiment, the signal-to-noise ratio and probability of detection error can be improved after considering the magnon Kerr nonlinearity.

Dissipative dynamics of optomagnonic nonclassical features via anti-Stokes optical pulses: squeezing, blockade, anti-correlation, and entanglement

We propose a feasible experimental model to investigate the generation and characterization of nonclassical states in a cavity optomagnonic system consisting of a ferromagnetic YIG sphere that simultaneously supports both the magnon mode and two whispering gallery modes of optical photons. The photons undergo the magnon-induced Brillouin light scattering, which is a well-established tool for the cavity-assisted manipulations of magnons as well as magnon spintronics. At first, we derive the desired interaction Hamiltonian under the influence of the anti-Stokes scattering process and then proceed to analyze the dynamical evolution of quantum statistics of photons and magnons as well as their intermodal entanglement. The results show that both photons and magnons generally acquire some nonclassical features, e.g., the strong antibunching and anti-correlation. Interestingly, the system may experience the perfect photon and magnon blockade phenomena, simultaneously. Besides, the nonclassical features may be protected against the unwanted environmental effects for a relatively long time, especially, in the weak driving field regime and when the system is initiated with a small number of particles. However, it should be noted that some fast quantum-classical transitions may occur in-between. Although the unwanted dissipative effects plague the nonclassical features, we show that this system can be adopted to prepare optomagnonic entangled states. The generation of entangled states depends on the initial state of the system and the interaction regime. The intermodal photon-magnon entanglement may be generated and pronounced, especially, if the system is initialized with low intensity even Schrödinger cat state in the strong coupling regime. The cavity-assisted manipulation of magnons is a unique and flexible mechanism that allows an interesting test bed for investigating the interdisciplinary contexts involving quantum optics and spintronics. Moreover, such a hybrid optomagnonic system may be used to design both on-demand single-photon and single-magnon sources and may find potential applications in quantum information processing.

Generating optical cat states via quantum interference of multi-path free-electron-photons interactions

The novel quantum effects induced by the free-electron-photons interaction have attracted increasing interest due to their potential applications in ultrafast quantum information processing. Here, we propose a scheme to generate optical cat states based on the quantum interference of multi-path free-electron-photons interactions that take place simultaneously with strong coupling strength. By performing a projection measurement on the electron, the state of light changes significantly from a coherent state into a non-Gaussian state with either Wigner negativity or squeezing property, both possess metrological power to achieve quantum advantage. More importantly, we show that the Wigner negativity oscillates with the coupling strength, and the optical cat states are successfully generated with high fidelity at all the oscillation peaks. This oscillation reveals the quantum interference effect of the multiple quantum pathways in the interaction of the electron with photons, by that various nonclassical states of light are promising to be fast prepared and manipulated. These findings inspire further exploration of emergent quantum phenomena and advanced quantum technologies with free electrons.

Generation of robust optical entanglement in cavity optomagnonics

We propose a scheme to realize robust optical entanglement in cavity optomagnonics, where two optical whispering gallery modes (WGMs) couple to a magnon mode in a yttrium iron garnet (YIG) sphere. The beam-splitter-like and two-mode squeezing magnon-photon interactions can be realized simultaneously when the two optical WGMs are driven by external fields. Entanglement between the two optical modes is then generated via their coupling with magnons. By exploiting the destructive quantum interference between the bright modes of the interface, the effects of initial thermal occupations of magnons can be eliminated. Moreover, the excitation of the Bogoliubov dark mode is capable of protecting the optical entanglement from thermal heating effects. Therefore, the generated optical entanglement is robust against thermal noise and the requirement of cooling the magnon mode is relaxed. Our scheme may find applications in the study of magnon-based quantum information processing.

Optomechanical Schrödinger cat states in a cavity Bose-Einstein condensate

Schrödinger cat states, consisting of superpositions of macroscopically distinct states, provide key resources for a large number of emerging quantum technologies in quantum information processing. Here we propose how to generate and manipulate mechanical and optical Schrödinger cat states with distinguishable superposition components by exploiting the unique properties of cavity optomechanical systems based on Bose-Einstein condensate. Specifically, we show that in comparison with its solid-state counterparts, almost a 3 order of magnitude enhancement in the size of the mechanical Schrödinger cat state could be achieved, characterizing a much smaller overlap between its two superposed coherent-state components. By exploiting this generated cat state, we further show how to engineer the quadrature squeezing of the mechanical mode. Besides, we also provide an efficient method to create multicomponent optical Schrödinger cat states in our proposed scheme. Our work opens up a new way to achieve nonclassical states of massive objects, facilitating the development of fault-tolerant quantum processors and sensors.

Generation of Schrödinger Cat States in a Hybrid Cavity Optomechanical System

We present an alternative scheme to achieve Schrödinger cat states in a strong coupling hybrid cavity optomechanical system. Under the single-photon strong-coupling regime, the interaction between the atom-cavity-oscillator system can induce the mesoscopic mechanical oscillator to Schrödinger cat states. Comparing to previous schemes, the proposed proposal consider the second order approximation on the Lamb-Dicke parameter, which is more universal in the experiment. Numerical simulations confirm the validity of our derivation.

Remote switch for Schrödinger's cat state using Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen entanglement

We propose a 'remote switch' for Schrödinger's cat state (SCS). Resorting to nonlocal correlations, we demonstrate that an approximate SCS can be heralded at one mode of an Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen entangled state, via a conditional 'hybrid projective measurement' (HPM) performed on the other one mode. The HPM is able to fully manipulate both size and parity of the generated SCS. Here, the HPM consists of both photon number measurement and homodyne conditioning. Such a remote switch for SCS will open up new ideas in subsequent protocols, including fundamental tests and nonlocal manipulation of non-Gaussian states.

Magnon-atom-optical photon entanglement via the microwave photon-mediated Raman interaction

We show that it is possible to generate magnon-atom-optical photon tripartite entanglement via the microwave photon-mediated Raman interaction. Magnons in a macroscopic ferromagnet and optical photons in a cavity are induced into a Raman interaction with an atomic spin ensemble when a microwave field couples the magnons to one Raman wing. The controllable magnon-atom entanglement, magnon-optical photon entanglement, and even genuine magnon-atom-optical photon tripartite entanglement can be generated simultaneously. In addition, these bipartite and tripartite entanglements are robust against the environment temperature. Our scheme paves the way for exploring a quantum interface bridging the microwave and optical domains, and may provide a promising building block for hybrid quantum networks.

Analog Quantum Control of Magnonic Cat States on a Chip by a Superconducting Qubit

We propose to directly and quantum-coherently couple a superconducting transmon qubit to magnons-the quanta of the collective spin excitations, in a nearby magnetic particle. The magnet's stray field couples to the qubit via a superconducting quantum interference device. We predict a resonant magnon-qubit exchange and a nonlinear radiation-pressure interaction that are both stronger than dissipation rates and tunable by an external flux bias. We additionally demonstrate a quantum control scheme that generates magnon-qubit entanglement and magnonic Schrödinger cat states with high fidelity.